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Is there a Hi-Rise version of the Cobra manifold without the pvc port?

Yes. It was apparently not intended for street use because it had no provision of any kind for a PCV system fitting. It also had the fly cut reliefs between banks on the carburetor mounting flange as Shelby American did for the racing GT350 intakes later. All new Cobras with stock HP289 engines used PCV systems, even with optional 4V and 2-4V induction systems.

This version has very thin as cast port walls. They are fragile. I know I have located six of them and only two were not cracked at one of the carburetor fixing stud bosses, one still never installed and one still right where a dealer installed it in 1965.







The new unused one was ordered post delivery by a late 1964 Cobra buyer and never installed. We purchased the intake directly from that original owner.


The dealer installed one was ordered and installed in a 1965 Cobra during 1965. Without any provision for a PCV fitting the dealer installed a road draft tube for crankcase ventilation. As of early 2020 when I was examining it, it was still installed right where it was bolted down in 1965.

Unrestored alternator from a CSX2201-CSX2589 Cobra. It is not a great picture, but is what I have handy. This unit works well and is our back up spare, which has come in handy.

1963. There were two alternator assemblies I know of for Mercury and Ford sedans with some of the 427 c.i.d. engine option packages. Based on some information posted on some 427 Galaxie groups sites, the 40 amp model was used for about the first half of the model year to be followed by a 42 amp model. 1963 model year cores with original drive end cases are rare. The screw bosses on the drive end cases had a cracking problem. During the 1964 model year, the revised for 1964 drive end case was the service replacement. The next replacement drive end case came along and is noticeably different than the 1963 and 1964 parts. I see quite a few alternator cores for sale with the later 1965 style service replacement drive end case.


1964. The only external part special for the 1964 Mercury-Ford 427 powered option packages applicable and 1964-65 Cobra application was the fan and large diameter sheave assembly. 1964 model year alternator cores are not rare but are very rarely found in the general used parts market with the high rpm large diameter sheave.  1964-65 Cobras used the 1964 issues of 40 amp model alternator assembly.  CSX2201-CSX2589 street cars used different lock nuts for securing the wire loom plug than other vehicles.


When you get into fine details I have come across or seen pictures of five (5) different early 1960s large diameter sheaves between "SK" prefix prototypes to the one most used in new 1964-65 Cobras.


Generally speaking, the desirability of any version, single groove or double groove, or in any sheave diameter of "1964" sheave section lies in exactly which version it is and what its condition is.  The range in values is rather large. The fan and sheave assemblies with small diameter double groove sheaves are pretty common. More below.


Buyer Beware: Not all large diameter single groove sheave parts around were made in the 1960s.



1)   The original supplier of record of the large fan and sheave assemblies was Dearborn Steel Tubing Company (DST). That does not mean they were all the same as different subcontracting job shops did the machine work in different time periods.  More than one stamp set was used to add engineering numbers to assemblies at different times. DST provided new made batches of replacements at least into the 1980s as they would have them for sale at SAAC conventions. I looked at the then modern offerings at a few conventions but never purchased one because they were not 100% exactly like what was in our car.   I saw a couple of circa 1980s DST replacements still new and unused this past summer when we visited a restoration shop.



2)   I have been told that several people have made their own look-a-like large fan and sheave assemblies for the replicar market but I have not seen one in person.



Sheave & Fan Assembly Removal & Installation: I recommend obtaining the Ford training and service manuals for the 1963-64 alternators before starting. Copies are listed on eBay® occasionally. Some information is in various 1963-64 Ford vehicle service manuals.


Removal. Ford Motor Company had a special puller available to remove pressed on power steering pump sheaves and 1963-64 alternator fan and sheave assemblies. Several aftermarket tool companies offered their own versions of pullers. The central spool the Ford puller engages with is very easy to damage and I see a lot of damaged ones in Cobras. I never found a Ford tool and none of the aftermarket tools I purchased were all that friendly to the very rare part. I designed my own that will remove a fan and sheave assembly without even scratching the paint. Removing alternator fan and sheave assemblies has been super easy for me.


Installation. The brush end case assembly must be removed to get started and that is a great time to make sure the grease in the rear bearing is still in good condition and if not, deal with it. Service replacement bearings are readily available but do not have the same exposed markings as the bearing assemblies installed during original manufacture. Ford manuals cover this brush end case removal. Verify the little spacer ring that slips over the drive end of the rotor shaft was not lost during service work before installing the fan and sheave assembly. The spacer ring goes between the rotor body and the fan and sheave assembly.  (If lost, an obsolete parts dealer may have some as Ford sold the spacers as a service part.) The fan and sheave assembly must be pressed on against the brush end of the rotor assembly shaft resting on the press bed. The press work must be done straight to prevent damaging the bore of the fan and sheave assembly. Reinstall the brush end case.



How about the drive end bearing? The drive end bearing is what I have had to replace before. To get the bearing and rotor out of the drive end case the fan and sheave assembly must be removed first. The bearing retainer plate fasteners must be removed. The bearing can be very stubborn resisting disassembly from the drive end case. A friend told me to lay some small chips of natural bee's wax around the bearing in the case and shaft, heat the case and bearing up to 250ׄ°F, and then separate the bearing from the drive end case. That method worked easily whereas nothing else had over many attempts. Replacement bearings are readily available, a common Ford item for many years.

[At 630 average feet above sea level.]

From personal experience with a single car over four decades:

I have used a standard pump and I have used a pump with HP289 specific impeller. This is in an original Cobra where the radiator is a long way from the grille.

At 630 average feet above sea level.

With the standard pump impeller:

Overheating in slow stop and go traffic was not an issue unless the ambient temperature got above about 95°F.

Oveheating (up to indicated 240°F) during high speed open track play was a serious problem when above about 5,000 rpm very long.


With the HP289 impeller:
Overheating in slow stop and go traffic had to be watched when the ambient temperature was over about 75°F. The first traffic light stop was okay, the second was hotter, and by a third I was looking for a place to get a cool down run above 40 mph.

Overheating was not a problem running at red line on a road coarse even when the ambient was higher than I was comfortable in. (It is always hot in a Cobra's cockpit unless it is cold weather.)

And then we moved to 5,400 feet above sea level. At that altitude it is very common to find large electric after market fans added to any kind of old car or truck deal with the low air density and attendant lower heat transfer capacity. We added the largest highest flow electric fan the car's electrical system could deal with to prevent overheating driving to Lowe's and back with a HP289 impeller.

My recommendations to original Cobra and HP289 car owners are to install a standard pump for all uses except for high speed touring through a desert or serious open track play. If the car is mostly used as a road track car, install a HP289 or Boss 302 impeller.

Bear in mind that no one was selling collector cars in the 1960s. If they sold a high performance Ford, Ford expected owners to run to red line frequently and some would go racing.

I have no connection to the seller. When owners and restorers of CSX2201-CSX2589 have a use for a new fuel level sensor, it normally takes weeks or longer to hunt one down.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/225806212886?hash=item3493195f16:g:5OEAAOSw2Dtk52lR&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4FquuCRGWwcB6N92qS%2BiiwJgDZCD4iOMEeS0noXPJ71p0oQoBto0wARilbN6AZV%2BRjSApMg7LZJPNItUqmsRAeDLqtd5XP4kLAhmwa7tGhUWPt6kFEbDuUEQskTNkS51mmjVA99%2FpYgEiqJF3aihdFcFUc9u%2B82gzbxgRdAkU7nvKU68U%2BXhKtr36iE2WM1j%2BmoLGKarj4RixyDEjTjDcp0HT1FYDqSoNgqfTVvhhsJl8SOTFGhAJt8q32LH50HCEZ20YH0VVKg3d4ec8qVAA8y3WVSWnIY8GIG27fU11uoN%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5T2ia_hYg


eBay item number:225806212886

Don't want to beat a dead horse with another intake manifold question- stumbled across this and wondered if anyone knows if the passenger side carb opening was factory or did someone take a mill to it at one point in time. seems odd they would've only done one side. I've seen lots of cobra and GT350 intake photos- none look like this. any intel appreciated

As far as I know, not a Ford or Shelby modification. Shelby American use to spot face two places to make narrow balance passages between sides 1964-67 for race modified 4V intakes.

Factory race prepared COBRA intake carburetor base mount modification.

PM sent, there is more to discuss than fits in little text boxes.

They are not the same as Cobra (leaf spring chassis) instruments.  Different bezel rings for one thing. The original instruments were marked "MADE IN ENGLAND" for another.

Thanks Dan for contributing to an expanding knowledge base!

You are welcome.

(PS The best time to ask questions about parts is before purchase.)

I have recently seen various 1963 model Ford ignition distributors advertised for sale as Cobra parts that were not.  I made a reference list of known units applicable for street and race Cobra over time.

To be specific, FoMoCo® models were all made as fully mechanical advance dual point assemblies.


Experimental High Performance 260: FoMoCo XF 139764 (experimental assembly) with non-functional vacuum advance unit used as block off for a large slot in housing.


High Performance 260: FoMoCo C2FF-12127-A with empty non-functional vacuum advance unit used as block off for a large slot in housing.


1962 Experimental High Performance 289: Could have been prototype types of either the C3OF-12127-D or C3OF-12127-F as examples of them dated in 1962 have surfaced for sale. They had non-functional vacuum advance units used as block offs for the large slots in housings.


High Performance 289 1963½ models until phased out circa mid-May 1963: FoMoCo C3OF-12127-F with empty non-functional vacuum advance unit used as block off for a large slot in housing.


Shelby American racing 260 and early 289 engines, "Spalding Super Flame Thrower Ignition"


High Performance 289 circa mid-May 1963½ onward and 1964 models through July 1964: FoMoCo C3OF-12127-D with no provisions for a bolt on vacuum advance unit.


High Performance 289 five bolt engines built August 1964 and six bolt automatic transmission engines built September 1964: FoMoCo C5OF-12127-E with no provisions for a bolt on vacuum advance unit.

I remember meeting the owner in Hartselle and crawling all over the car. The car and story attached to it were fairly well known in northern Alabama. When it was offered for sale decades ago we went and checked the car out. It was crude at the time with many parts of all kinds missing. From memory, workmanship was not all that great. It had been modified with some but not all "Shelby style" pieces and parts. As far as the HM identification, it seemed very questionable.

The car was located by quite a few people over several years and has been discussed in public nearly five decades.

There is one on eBay. It is not mine.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/145144778787?hash=item21cb4d9023:g:IdkAAOSwValkj7WL&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwA%2Bu4M%2FYqPeKbIHcDOnU%2BDnIagWWtbwJOHomAY5QBAG3tX0gm%2F7UmMNSuylVfmpVPw2c%2BcRMyoKz3CX7WEZeeUFm47ukdDEpsJUIFeB3eTRMnpkWzKjvosk1BBMLk%2FGwchq3IN4LXz9F5JtDVHmPnxt8eiqc4SlNAa1ycFlXJ5fi%2BwMTC%2FPD%2BSfQQ6CE8C1XhN3H7D11bjZQ7a7EKCABJzjWp9JInFpcZFhsYbcKhMEzjG5%2Bhf%2FXn7W9JDSJJlGeOA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7qtsPmkYg

Thanks but by the time I saw the listing it was sold already.

Still hunting.

... Where else on the planet does something like this happen and how often?

In short, often during spring and fall seasons in many states and countries every year in the continental USA and Europe. All the ones that I know about are by invitation of the organizer(s).


Organized tours for Cobras/427 Cobras/289 Sports happen in east, south west, and sometimes north west most years. Tours for any A.C. Cars Ltd vehicle happen in the UK and Cobra/427 Cobra/289 Sports tours happen in mainland Europe. Sometimes one to several GT350s join in the eastern tours but I do not know about the western states versions. There could be an organized tour almost any spring or fall somewhere. We have participated in tours between 750 and 1,300 miles in length.  These by invitation events are not public static display shine and show events; drivers get the cars out early and go driving planned routes - during sunny days, cool days, warm to hot days, sometimes brief night drives, in the rain, on mud or gravel roads sometimes, road construction zones, and yes even snow storms are part of the equation sooner or later. Driving through road work areas is almost a given. (Note: Other groups I know little about have invited original Cobras, 427 Cobras, and 1960s GT40s.)

There are also GT350 focused tours in various locations around the continental USA yearly also.

The Hardee's parking lot across the street from the hotel became the staging area each morning.